Siege of Dong

The Siege of Dong occurred in 191 AD when Liu Bei and his army conquered the Yellow Turban stronghold of Dong in Dong Commandery, completing Liu Bei's control over the commandery and winning him over his first city.

Background
In 190 AD, the landless warlord Liu Bei began to carve out a domain of his own in northeastern China, defeating the local Yellow Turbans several times and conquering their bases. In the winter of 190 AD, Liu Bei began to attack Huang Shao's faction of the Yellow Turbans, who controlled lands to the north and west of him. In the autumn of 191 AD, Liu Bei and his army attacked Huang Shao's stronghold at the small city of Dong, the capital of Dong Commandery.

Siege
Liu Bei and his army of 1,169 troops faced a much larger garrison of 1,713 Yellow Turbans under Huang Shao's generals Pei Yuanshao, Guan Wenshan, and Mi Zhi, and his advisors predicted that Liu Bei would narrowly lose the battle. Liu Bei had his army use a battering ram to destroy the gates, and his cavalry then charged in and overwhelmed the small number of defenders there. He then sent his cavalry to overwhelm the archers positioned deeper in the city as his infantry battled the Yellow Turbans' infantry, and Liu Bei and his sworn brothers Zhang Fei and Guan Yu slew Guan Wenshan at the central square before Pei Yuanshao charged into battle; he, too, was cut down in quick succession. With the Yellow Turban generals dead, the rebel defenders were demoralized and were quickly routed after a final push. The city's fall gave Liu Bei control over his first city, and it completed his control over Dong Commandery.